Concepts for using action identifiers in messages

ABSTRACT

Computer program products, methods, systems, apparatus, and computing entities are provided for automatically carrying out actions based on action identifiers in messages. In one embodiment, an appropriate computing entity can determine whether a message comprises an action identifier in the message. If the message comprises an action identifier, one or more of the parties of message can be identified and the corresponding action can be initiated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 16/264,124, filed Jan. 31, 2019, entitled “Conceptsfor Using Action Identifiers in Messages,” which is a continuation ofand claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 14/477,496, filed Sep.4, 2014, entitled “Concepts for Using Action Identifiers in Messages”(now U.S. Pat. No. 10,223,664), which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/005,278, filed May 30, 2014, entitled“Customer Controlled Management of Shipments,” all of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

With the explosion of mobile devices, social media, and other forms ofelectronic communication, there is a need for new approaches forcontrolling the shipment of items, conducting the purchase of items, andperforming other actions as desired by users.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present invention provide methods,apparatus, systems, computing devices, computing entities, and/or thelike.

In accordance with one aspect, a method is provided. In one embodiment,the method comprises (1) determining whether an electronic message froma sender to an intended recipient comprises an action identifier in theelectronic message, the action identifier initiating the generation of ashipping record for an item to be sent from the sender to the intendedrecipient; (2) responsive to determining that the electronic messagecomprises the action identifier in the electronic message, determining(a) the identity of the sender and the intended recipient of the itembased at least in part on the electronic message and (b) a physicaladdress of the intended recipient of the item based at least in part onthe electronic message; and (3) automatically initiating generation of ashipping record for the item, the shipping record identifying (a) thesender of the item, (b) the recipient of the item, and (b) the physicaladdress of the intended recipient of the item.

In accordance with another aspect, a computer program product isprovided. The computer program product may comprise at least onecomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codeportions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portionscomprising executable portions configured to (1) determine whether anelectronic message from a sender to an intended recipient comprises anaction identifier in the electronic message, the action identifierinitiating the generation of a shipping record for an item to be sentfrom the sender to the intended recipient; (2) responsive to determiningthat the electronic message comprises the action identifier in theelectronic message, determine (a) the identity of the sender and theintended recipient of the item based at least in part on the electronicmessage and (b) a physical address of the intended recipient of the itembased at least in part on the electronic message; and (3) automaticallyinitiate generation of a shipping record for the item, the shippingrecord identifying (a) the sender of the item, (b) the recipient of theitem, and (b) the physical address of the intended recipient of theitem.

In accordance with yet another aspect, an apparatus comprising at leastone processor and at least one memory including computer program code isprovided. In one embodiment, the at least one memory and the computerprogram code may be configured to, with the processor, cause theapparatus to (1) determine whether an electronic message from a senderto an intended recipient comprises an action identifier in theelectronic message, the action identifier initiating the generation of ashipping record for an item to be sent from the sender to the intendedrecipient; (2) responsive to determining that the electronic messagecomprises the action identifier in the electronic message, determine (a)the identity of the sender and the intended recipient of the item basedat least in part on the electronic message and (b) a physical address ofthe intended recipient of the item based at least in part on theelectronic message; and (3) automatically initiate generation of ashipping record for the item, the shipping record identifying (a) thesender of the item, (b) the recipient of the item, and (b) the physicaladdress of the intended recipient of the item.

In accordance with one aspect, a method is provided. In one embodiment,the method comprises (1) determining whether an electronic message froma purchasing party comprises an action identifier in the electronicmessage, the action identifier initiating (a) the purchase of an item bythe purchasing party and (b) the generation of a shipping record for theitem; (2) responsive to determining that the electronic message from thepurchasing party comprises the action identifier in the electronicmessage, determining (a) the identity of the purchasing party based atleast in part on the electronic message, (b) the item being purchasedbased at least in part on the electronic message, and (c) a physicaladdress of the purchasing party based at least in part on the electronicmessage; and (3) automatically initiating (a) the purchase of the itemfor the purchasing party and (b) the generation of a shipping record forthe item, the shipping record identifying the purchasing party of theitem and the physical address of the purchasing party.

In accordance with another aspect, a computer program product isprovided. The computer program product may comprise at least onecomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codeportions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portionscomprising executable portions configured to (1) determine whether anelectronic message from a purchasing party comprises an actionidentifier in the electronic message, the action identifier initiating(a) the purchase of an item by the purchasing party and (b) thegeneration of a shipping record for the item; (2) responsive todetermining that the electronic message from the purchasing partycomprises the action identifier in the electronic message, determine (a)the identity of the purchasing party based at least in part on theelectronic message, (b) the item being purchased based at least in parton the electronic message, and (c) a physical address of the purchasingparty based at least in part on the electronic message; and (3)automatically initiate (a) the purchase of the item for the purchasingparty and (b) the generation of a shipping record for the item, theshipping record identifying the purchasing party of the item and thephysical address of the purchasing party.

In accordance with yet another aspect, an apparatus comprising at leastone processor and at least one memory including computer program code isprovided. In one embodiment, the at least one memory and the computerprogram code may be configured to, with the processor, cause theapparatus to (1) determine whether an electronic message from apurchasing party comprises an action identifier in the electronicmessage, the action identifier initiating (a) the purchase of an item bythe purchasing party and (b) the generation of a shipping record for theitem; (2) responsive to determining that the electronic message from thepurchasing party comprises the action identifier in the electronicmessage, determine (a) the identity of the purchasing party based atleast in part on the electronic message, (b) the item being purchasedbased at least in part on the electronic message, and (c) a physicaladdress of the purchasing party based at least in part on the electronicmessage; and (3) automatically initiate (a) the purchase of the item forthe purchasing party and (b) the generation of a shipping record for theitem, the shipping record identifying the purchasing party of the itemand the physical address of the purchasing party.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an overview of a system that can be used to practiceembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a carrier/transportercomputing entity according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a user computing entityaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts illustrating operations and processesthat can be used in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 5-12, 13A, 13B, 14-15, and 17-31 are exemplary input and outputthat can be produced with various embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, and 16D are exemplary packages with identifyinginformation on the outside of the packages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present invention now will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, theseinventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. The term “or” is used herein in both the alternativeand conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The terms“illustrative” and “exemplary” are used to be examples with noindication of quality level. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

I. COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS, METHODS, AND COMPUTING ENTITIES

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various ways,including as computer program products that comprise articles ofmanufacture. A computer program product may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing applications, programs, programmodules, scripts, source code, program code, object code, byte code,compiled code, interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions,and/or the like (also referred to herein as executable instructions,instructions for execution, computer program products, program code,and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably). Such non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media include all computer-readable media(including volatile and non-volatile media).

In one embodiment, a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, solid-state storage(SSS) (e.g., a solid state drive (SSD), solid state card (SSC), solidstate module (SSM), enterprise flash drive, magnetic tape, or any othernon-transitory magnetic medium, and/or the like. A non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium may also include a punch card, papertape, optical mark sheet (or any other physical medium with patterns ofholes or other optically recognizable indicia), compact disc read onlymemory (CD-ROM), compact disc-rewritable (CD-RW), digital versatile disc(DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), any other non-transitory optical medium,and/or the like. Such a non-volatile computer-readable storage mediummay also include read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory(PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory (e.g.,Serial, NAND, NOR, and/or the like), multimedia memory cards (MMC),secure digital (SD) memory cards, SmartMedia cards, CompactFlash (CF)cards, Memory Sticks, and/or the like. Further, a non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium may also include conductive-bridgingrandom access memory (CBRAM), phase-change random access memory (PRAM),ferroelectric random-access memory (FeRAM), non-volatile random-accessmemory (NVRAM), magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), resistiverandom-access memory (RRAM), Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon memory(SONOS), floating junction gate random access memory (FJG RAM),Millipede memory, racetrack memory, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, a volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),static random access memory (SRAM), fast page mode dynamic random accessmemory (FPM DRAM), extended data-out dynamic random access memory (EDODRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double datarate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), double datarate type two synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR2 SDRAM),double data rate type three synchronous dynamic random access memory(DDR3 SDRAM), Rambus dynamic random access memory (RDRAM), TwinTransistor RAM (TTRAM), Thyristor RAM (T-RAM), Zero-capacitor (Z-RAM),Rambus in-line memory module (RIMM), dual in-line memory module (DIMM),single in-line memory module (SIMM), video random access memory (VRAM),cache memory (including various levels), flash memory, register memory,and/or the like. It will be appreciated that where embodiments aredescribed to use a computer-readable storage medium, other types ofcomputer-readable storage media may be substituted for or used inaddition to the computer-readable storage media described above.

As should be appreciated, various embodiments of the present inventionmay also be implemented as methods, apparatus, systems, computingdevices, computing entities, and/or the like. As such, embodiments ofthe present invention may take the form of an apparatus, system,computing device, computing entity, and/or the like executinginstructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to performcertain steps or operations. Thus, embodiments of the present inventionmay also take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirelycomputer program product embodiment, and/or an embodiment that comprisescombination of computer program products and hardware performing certainsteps or operations.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with referenceto block diagrams and flowchart illustrations. Thus, it should beunderstood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations may be implemented in the form of a computer programproduct, an entirely hardware embodiment, a combination of hardware andcomputer program products, and/or apparatus, systems, computing devices,computing entities, and/or the like carrying out instructions,operations, steps, and similar words used interchangeably (e.g., theexecutable instructions, instructions for execution, program code,and/or the like) on a computer-readable storage medium for execution.For example, retrieval, loading, and execution of code may be performedsequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loaded, andexecuted at a time. In some exemplary embodiments, retrieval, loading,and/or execution may be performed in parallel such that multipleinstructions are retrieved, loaded, and/or executed together. Thus, suchembodiments can produce specifically-configured machines performing thesteps or operations specified in the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations. Accordingly, the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support various combinations of embodiments for performingthe specified instructions, operations, or steps.

II. EXEMPLARY SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

FIG. 1 provides an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 1, this particular embodiment mayinclude one or more carrier/transporter computing entities 100, one ormore networks 105, one or more user computing entities 110, one or morepayment computing entities 115, one or more retailer computing entities120, one or more social media computing entities 125, and/or one or moremobile entity communications networks (comprising mobile switchingcenters (MSCs), service control points (SCPs), Home Location Registers(HLRs), Visitor Location Registers (VLRs), and/or the like). Each ofthese components, entities, devices, systems, and similar words usedherein interchangeably may be in direct or indirect communication with,for example, one another over the same or different wired or wirelessnetworks. Additionally, while FIG. 1 illustrates the various systementities as separate, standalone entities, the various embodiments arenot limited to this particular architecture.

1. Exemplary Carrier/Transporter Computing Entity

FIG. 2 provides a schematic of a carrier/transporter computing entity100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Acarrier/transporter may be a traditional carrier/transporter, such asUPS, FedEx, DHL, courier services, the United States Postal Service(USPS), Canadian Post, and/or the like. However, a carrier/transportermay also be a nontraditional carrier/transporter, such as Amazon,Google, Uber, ride-sharing services, crowd-source couriers/services,Macy's, and/or the like. In general, the terms computing entity,computer, entity, device, system, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably may refer to, for example, one or more computers,computing entities, desktops, mobile phones, tablets, phablets,notebooks, laptops, distributed systems, gaming consoles (e.g., Xbox,Play Station, Wii), watches, glasses, key fobs, radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tags, ear pieces, scanners, televisions, vehicles,dongles, cameras, wristbands, wearable items, kiosks, input terminals,servers or server networks, blades, gateways, switches, processingdevices, processing entities, set-top boxes, relays, routers, networkaccess points, base stations, the like, and/or any combination ofdevices or entities adapted to perform the functions, operations, and/orprocesses described herein. Such functions, operations, and/or processesmay include, for example, transmitting, receiving, operating on,processing, displaying, storing, determining, creating/generating,monitoring, evaluating, comparing, and/or similar terms used hereininterchangeably. In one embodiment, these functions, operations, and/orprocesses can be performed on data, content, information, and/or similarterms used herein interchangeably.

The carrier/transporter computing entity 100 may also comprise, be incommunication with, and/or be associated with various other systems,such as an Address Matching System (AMS), an Internet Membership System(IMS), a Customer Profile System (CPS), a Package Center InformationSystem (PCIS), a Customized Pickup and Delivery System (CPAD), a WebContent Management System (WCMS), a Notification Email System (NES), aFraud Prevention System (FPS), and a variety of other systems and theircorresponding components. The carrier/transporter computing entity 100may comprise, be in communication with, and/or be associated withvarious payment networks/systems/entities for carrying out orfacilitating the payment of fees. As will be recognized, the payment ofsuch fees may be in a variety of forms, such as via debit cards, creditcards, direct credits, direct debits, cash, check, money order, Internetbanking, e-commerce payment networks/systems/entities (e.g., PayPal,Google Wallet, Amazon Payments), virtual currencies (e.g., Bitcoins),award or reward points, and/or the like.

As indicated, in one embodiment, the carrier/transporter computingentity 100 may also include one or more communications interfaces 220for communicating with various computing entities, such as bycommunicating data, content, information, and/or similar terms usedherein interchangeably that can be transmitted, received, operated on,processed, displayed, stored, and/or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the carrier/transporter computingentity 100 may include or be in communication with one or moreprocessing elements 205 (also referred to as processors, processingcircuitry, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably) thatcommunicate with other elements within the carrier/transporter computingentity 100 via a bus, for example. As will be understood, the processingelement 205 may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example,the processing element 205 may be embodied as one or more complexprogrammable logic devices (CPLDs), microprocessors, multi-coreprocessors, coprocessing entities, application-specific instruction-setprocessors (ASIPs), microcontrollers, and/or controllers. Further, theprocessing element 205 may be embodied as one or more other processingdevices or circuitry. The term circuitry may refer to an entirelyhardware embodiment or a combination of hardware and computer programproducts. Thus, the processing element 205 may be embodied as integratedcircuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs),hardware accelerators, other circuitry, and/or the like. As willtherefore be understood, the processing element 205 may be configuredfor a particular use or configured to execute instructions stored involatile or non-volatile media or otherwise accessible to the processingelement 205. As such, whether configured by hardware or computer programproducts, or by a combination thereof, the processing element 205 may becapable of performing steps or operations according to embodiments ofthe present invention when configured accordingly.

In one embodiment, the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 mayfurther include or be in communication with non-volatile media (alsoreferred to as non-volatile storage, memory, memory storage, memorycircuitry and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably). In oneembodiment, the non-volatile storage or memory may include one or morenon-volatile storage or memory media 210, including but not limited tohard disks, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, MMCs, SD memorycards, Memory Sticks, CBRAM, PRAM, FeRAM, NVRAM, MRAM, RRAM, SONOS, FJGRAM, Millipede memory, racetrack memory, and/or the like. As will berecognized, the non-volatile storage or memory media may storedatabases, database instances, database management systems, data,applications, programs, program modules, scripts, source code, objectcode, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code, machine code,executable instructions, and/or the like. The term database, databaseinstance, database management system, and/or similar terms used hereininterchangeably may refer to a collection of records or data that isstored in a computer-readable storage medium using one or more databasemodels, such as a hierarchical database model, network model, relationalmodel, entity-relationship model, object model, document model, semanticmodel, graph model, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 mayfurther include or be in communication with volatile media (alsoreferred to as volatile storage, memory, memory storage, memorycircuitry and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably). In oneembodiment, the volatile storage or memory may also include one or morevolatile storage or memory media 215, including but not limited to RAM,DRAM, SRAM, FPM DRAM, EDO DRAM, SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3SDRAM, RDRAM, TTRAM, T-RAM, Z-RAM, RIMM, DIMM, SIMM, VRAM, cache memory,register memory, and/or the like. As will be recognized, the volatilestorage or memory media may be used to store at least portions of thedatabases, database instances, database management systems, data,applications, programs, program modules, scripts, source code, objectcode, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code, machine code,executable instructions, and/or the like being executed by, for example,the processing element 205. Thus, the databases, database instances,database management systems, data, applications, programs, programmodules, scripts, source code, object code, byte code, compiled code,interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions, and/or the likemay be used to control certain aspects of the operation of thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 with the assistance of theprocessing element 205 and operating system.

As indicated, in one embodiment, the carrier/transporter computingentity 100 may also include one or more communications interfaces 220for communicating with various computing entities, such as bycommunicating data, content, information, and/or similar terms usedherein interchangeably that can be transmitted, received, operated on,processed, displayed, stored, and/or the like. Such communication may beexecuted using a wired data transmission protocol, such as fiberdistributed data interface (FDDI), digital subscriber line (DSL),Ethernet, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), frame relay, data over cableservice interface specification (DOCSIS), or any other wiredtransmission protocol. Similarly, the carrier/transporter computingentity 100 may be configured to communicate via wireless externalcommunication networks using any of a variety of protocols, such asgeneral packet radio service (GPRS), Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), CDMA20001× (1×RTT), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE), Time Division-Synchronous Code Division MultipleAccess (TD-SCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), Evolution-Data Optimized(EVDO), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High-Speed Downlink PacketAccess (HSDPA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, 802.16 (WiMAX), ultrawideband (UWB), infrared (IR) protocols, near field communication (NFC)protocols, Wibree, Bluetooth protocols, wireless universal serial bus(USB) protocols, and/or any other wireless protocol.

Although not shown, the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 mayinclude or be in communication with one or more input elements, such asa keyboard input, a mouse input, a touch screen/display input, motioninput, movement input, audio input, pointing device input, joystickinput, keypad input, and/or the like. The carrier/transporter computingentity 100 may also include or be in communication with one or moreoutput elements (not shown), such as audio output, video output,screen/display output, motion output, movement output, and/or the like.

As will be appreciated, one or more of the carrier/transporter computingentity's 100 components may be located remotely from othercarrier/transporter computing entity 100 components, such as in adistributed system. Furthermore, one or more of the components may becombined and additional components performing functions described hereinmay be included in the carrier/transporter computing entity 100. Thus,the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 can be adapted toaccommodate a variety of needs and circumstances. As will be recognized,these architectures and descriptions are provided for exemplary purposesonly and are not limiting to the various embodiments.

2. Exemplary User Computing Entity

A user may be an individual, a family, a company, an organization, anentity, a department within an organization, a representative of anorganization and/or person, and/or the like. To do so, a user mayoperate a user computing entity 110 that includes one or more componentsthat are functionally similar to those of the carrier/transportercomputing entity 100. FIG. 3 provides an illustrative schematicrepresentative of a user computing entity 110 that can be used inconjunction with embodiments of the present invention. In general, theterms device, system, computing entity, entity, and/or similar wordsused herein interchangeably may refer to, for example, one or morecomputers, computing entities, desktops, mobile phones, tablets,phablets, notebooks, laptops, distributed systems, gaming consoles(e.g., Xbox, Play Station, Wii), watches, glasses, key fobs, RFID tags,ear pieces, scanners, cameras, wristbands, kiosks, input terminals,servers or server networks, blades, gateways, switches, processingdevices, processing entities, set-top boxes, relays, routers, networkaccess points, base stations, the like, and/or any combination ofdevices or entities adapted to perform the functions, operations, and/orprocesses described herein. As shown in FIG. 3, the user computingentity 110 can include an antenna 312, a transmitter 304 (e.g., radio),a receiver 306 (e.g., radio), and a processing element 308 (e.g., CPLDs,microprocessors, multi-core processors, coprocessing entities, ASIPs,microcontrollers, and/or controllers) that provides signals to andreceives signals from the transmitter 304 and receiver 306,respectively.

The signals provided to and received from the transmitter 304 and thereceiver 306, respectively, may include signaling information inaccordance with air interface standards of applicable wireless systems.In this regard, the user computing entity 110 may be capable ofoperating with one or more air interface standards, communicationprotocols, modulation types, and access types. More particularly, theuser computing entity 110 may operate in accordance with any of a numberof wireless communication standards and protocols, such as thosedescribed above with regard to the carrier/transporter computing entity100. In a particular embodiment, the user computing entity 110 mayoperate in accordance with multiple wireless communication standards andprotocols, such as UMTS, CDMA2000, 1×RTT, WCDMA, GSM<EDGE, TD-SCDMA,LTE, E-UTRAN, EVDO, HSPA, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, WiMAX, UWB, IR,NFC, Bluetooth, USB, and/or the like. Similarly, the user computingentity 110 may operate in accordance with multiple wired communicationstandards and protocols, such as those described above with regard tothe carrier/transporter computing entity 100 via a network interface320.

Via these communication standards and protocols, the user computingentity 110 can communicate with various other entities using conceptssuch as Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Short MessageService (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Dual-ToneMulti-Frequency Signaling (DTMF), and/or Subscriber Identity ModuleDialer (SIM dialer). The user computing entity 110 can also downloadchanges, add-ons, and updates, for instance, to its firmware, software(e.g., including executable instructions, applications, programmodules), and operating system.

According to one embodiment, the user computing entity 110 may includelocation determining aspects, devices, modules, functionalities, and/orsimilar words used herein interchangeably. For example, the usercomputing entity 110 may include outdoor positioning aspects, such as alocation module adapted to acquire, for example, latitude, longitude,altitude, geocode, course, direction, heading, speed, universal time(UTC), date, and/or various other information/data. In one embodiment,the location module can acquire data, sometimes known as ephemeris data,by identifying the number of satellites in view and the relativepositions of those satellites (e.g., using global positioning systems(GPS)). The satellites may be a variety of different satellites,including Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite systems, Department of Defense(DOD) satellite systems, the European Union Galileo positioning systems,the Chinese Compass navigation systems, Indian Regional Navigationalsatellite systems, and/or the like. This data can be collected using avariety of coordinate systems, such as the Decimal Degrees (DD);Degrees, Minutes, Seconds (DMS); Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM);Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS) coordinate systems; and/or the like.Alternatively, the location information can be determined bytriangulating the user computing entity's 110 position in connectionwith a variety of other systems, including wireless towers, Wi-Fi accesspoints, and/or the like. Similarly, the user computing entity 110 mayinclude indoor positioning aspects, such as a location module adapted toacquire, for example, latitude, longitude, altitude, geocode, course,direction, heading, speed, time, date, and/or various otherinformation/data. Some of the indoor systems may use various position orlocation technologies including RFID tags, indoor beacons ortransmitters, Wi-Fi access points, wireless towers, nearby computingdevices (e.g., smartphones, laptops) and/or the like. For instance, suchtechnologies may include the iBeacons, Gimbal proximity beacons,Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmitters, NFC transmitters, and/or thelike. These indoor positioning aspects can be used in a variety ofsettings to determine the location of someone or something to withininches or centimeters.

The user computing entity 110 may also comprise a user interface (thatcan include a display 316 coupled to a processing element 308) and/or auser input interface (coupled to a processing element 308). For example,the user interface may be a user application, browser, user interface,and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing on and/oraccessible via the user computing entity 110 to interact with and/orcause display of information from the carrier/transporter computingentity 100, as described herein. The user input interface can compriseany of a number of devices or interfaces allowing the user computingentity 110 to receive data, such as a keypad 318 (hard or soft), a touchdisplay, voice/speech or motion interfaces, or other input device. Inembodiments including a keypad 318, the keypad 318 can include (or causedisplay of) the conventional numeric (0-9) and related keys (#, *), andother keys used for operating the user computing entity 110 and mayinclude a full set of alphabetic keys or set of keys that may beactivated to provide a full set of alphanumeric keys. In addition toproviding input, the user input interface can be used, for example, toactivate or deactivate certain functions, such as screen savers and/orsleep modes.

The user computing entity 110 can also include volatile storage ormemory 322 and/or non-volatile storage or memory 324, which can beembedded and/or may be removable. For example, the non-volatile memorymay be ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, MMCs, SD memory cards,Memory Sticks, CBRAM, PRAM, FeRAM, NVRAM, MRAM, RRAM, SONOS, FJG RAM,Millipede memory, racetrack memory, and/or the like. The volatile memorymay be RAM, DRAM, SRAM, FPM DRAM, EDO DRAM, SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RDRAM, TTRAM, T-RAM, Z-RAM, RIMM, DIMM, SIMM, VRAM,cache memory, register memory, and/or the like. The volatile andnon-volatile storage or memory can store databases, database instances,database management systems, data, applications, programs, programmodules, scripts, source code, object code, byte code, compiled code,interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions, and/or the liketo implement the functions of the user computing entity 110. Asindicated, this may include a user application that is resident on theentity or accessible through a browser or other user interface forcommunicating with the carrier/transporter computing entity 100, paymentcomputing entity 115, and/or various other computing entities.

In another embodiment, the user computing entity 110 may include one ormore components or functionality that are the same or similar to thoseof the carrier/transporter computing entity 100, as described in greaterdetail above. As will be recognized, these architectures anddescriptions are provided for exemplary purposes only and are notlimiting to the various embodiments.

3. Exemplary Payment Computing Entity

In one embodiment, a payment computing entity 115 may include one ormore components that are functionally similar to those of thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100, the user computing entity 110,the retailer computing entity 120, social media computing entity 125,and/or the like. For example, in one embodiment, each payment computingentity 115 may include one or more processing elements (e.g., CPLDs,microprocessors, multi-core processors, coprocessing entities, ASIPs,microcontrollers, and/or controllers), one or more display device/inputdevices (e.g., including user interfaces), volatile and non-volatilestorage or memory, and/or one or more communications interfaces. Forexample, the user interface may be a user application, browser, userinterface, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing onand/or accessible via the payment computing entity 115 to interact withand/or cause display of information from various other entities. As willbe recognized, these architectures and descriptions are provided forexemplary purposes only and are not limiting to the various embodiments.

4. Exemplary Retailer Computing Entity

In one embodiment, a retailer computing entity 120 may include one ormore components that are functionally similar to those of thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100, the user computing entity 110,the payment computing entity 115, and/or the social media computingentity 125. A retailer may provide retail services, such as amazon.com,macys.com, dell.com, walmart.com, apple.com, staples.com, amazon.com,bestbuy.com, costco.com, alibaba.com, ebay.com, netflix.com, sears.com,AppleTV, Apple, Dish, Amazon Digital Services, AT&T U-verse, DIRECT TV,Google Play, QVC, Mojang, Blizzard, Capcom, Deepsilver, Zombie Studios,Epic Games, Valve, Carbon Games, Digital Extremes, Klei Entertainment,Riot Games, Frozenbyte, Nvidia Shield, Ouya, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One,Wii, Wii U, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation, PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4, 3DO, GameCube, Genesis, Intellivision, Nintendo 64,and/or the like. In one embodiment, each retailer computing entity 120may include one or more processing elements (e.g., CPLDs,microprocessors, multi-core processors, coprocessing entities, ASIPs,microcontrollers, and/or controllers), one or more display device/inputdevices (e.g., including user interfaces), volatile and non-volatilestorage or memory, and/or one or more communications interfaces. Forexample, the user interface may be a user application, browser, userinterface, and/or similar words used herein interchangeably executing onand/or accessible via the retailer computing entity 120 to interact withand/or cause display of information from various other entities. As willbe recognized, these architectures and descriptions are provided forexemplary purposes only and are not limiting to the various embodiments.

5 Exemplary Mobile Entity Communications Networks

In one embodiment, the mobile entity communications networks forwireless services may include one or more MSCs, SCPs, VLRs, HLRs, callservers, and/or the like. The mobile entity communications networks maybe owned and/or operated by entities, such as China Mobile, Vodafone,Telefónica, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Qtel, China Unicom, Airtel,Etisalat, and/or the like. The MSCs, SCPs, call servers, and/or the likemay include one or more components that are functionally similar tothose described above with respect to the carrier/transporter computingentity 100, the user computing entity 110, the payment computing entity115, and/or the retailer computing entity 120. For example, in oneembodiment, entities in the mobile entity communications networks mayeach include one or more (1) processing elements, (2) memory storageareas, (3) network interfaces, (4) antennae, (5) transceivers, (6)communication interfaces, and/or (7) other components. In oneembodiment, although not shown, the MSC 110 may be connected to one ormore radio access networks (RAN), including one or more one or more basestation controllers (BSC) and one or more base transceiver stations(BTS). As will be recognized, the mobile entity communications networksmay support a variety of network types (e.g., wired, wireless, and/orthe like) and various communications standards and protocols (e.g.,UMTS, CDMA2000, 1×RTT, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, LTE, E-UTRAN, EVDO, HSPA, HSDPA,Wi-Fi, WiMAX, UWB, Customized Application of Mobile Enhanced Logic(CAMEL), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Wireless Intelligent Network(WIN), and/or the like).

6. Additional Social Media Computing Entities

In one embodiment, a social media computing entity 125 may include oneor more components that are functionally similar to those of thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100, the user computing entity 110,the payment computing entity 115, and/or the social media computingentity 125. Social media may include Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+,Pinterest, Microsoft Yammer, WMWare Socialcast, IBM Connections,SalesForce Chatter, Twitter, KaKao Talk, WhatsApp, WeChat, Yo, Etsy,Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, YouTube, Qzone, Sina Weibo, Tumblr,LINE, WeChat, Ubisoft, and/or the like. In one embodiment, each socialcomputing entity 125 may include one or more processing elements (e.g.,CPLDs, microprocessors, multi-core processors, coprocessing entities,ASIPs, microcontrollers, and/or controllers), one or more displaydevice/input devices (e.g., including user interfaces), volatile andnon-volatile storage or memory, and/or one or more communicationsinterfaces. For example, the user interface may be a user application,browser, user interface, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably executing on and/or accessible via the social mediacomputing entity 125 to interact with and/or cause display ofinformation from various other entities. As will be recognized, thesearchitectures and descriptions are provided for exemplary purposes onlyand are not limiting to the various embodiments.

III. EXEMPLARY SYSTEM OPERATION

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5-12, 13A, 13B, 14-15, 16A,16B, 16C, 16D, and 17-31. FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts illustratingoperations and processes. FIGS. 5-12, 13A, 13B, 14-15, and 17-31 areexemplary input and output. And FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, and 16D areexemplary packages.

1. Exemplary Registration/Enrollment

In one embodiment, as indicated in Block 400 of FIG. 4A, the process maybegin with the enrollment/registration for one or more accounts,services, subscriptions, programs, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably (see FIGS. 5, 6, 7). In one embodiment, an account maybe an account for wireless services with wireless service providers,such as an account with China Mobile, Vodafone, Telefónica, T-Mobile,Verizon, AT&T, Qtel, China Unicom, Airtel, Etisalat, and/or the like. Anaccount may be a business or personal social media account, such as anaccount with Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Microsoft Yammer,WMWare Socialcast, IBM Connections, SalesForce Chatter, Twitter, KaKaoTalk, WhatsApp, WeChat, Yo, Etsy, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat,YouTube, Qzone, Sina Weibo, Tumblr, LINE, WeChat, and/or the like. Anaccount may be a gaming account, such as an account with Ubisoft,Mojang, Blizzard, Capcom, Deepsilver, Zombie Studios, Epic Games, Valve,Carbon Games, Digital Extremes, Klei Entertainment, Riot Games,Frozenbyte, Nvidia Shield, Ouya, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Wii U,PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, 3DO, GameCube,Genesis, Intellivision, Nintendo 64, and/or the like. An account may bean entertainment account, such as an account with AppleTV, Apple, Dish,Amazon Digital Services, AT&T U-verse, DIRECT TV, Google Play, QVC,and/or the like. An account may be for retail services, such as anaccount with amazon.com, macys.com, dell.com, walmart.com, apple.com,staples.com, amazon.com, bestbuy.com, costco.com, alibaba.com, ebay.com,netflix.com, hulu.com, sears.com, and/or the like. An account may be forpayment services, such as PayPal, Google Wallet, Amazon Payments,Booker, Erply, Leaf, Leapset, Micros, Revel, ShopKeep, TouchBistro,Vend, and/or the like. An account may be for pickup, delivery, and/orreturns services with a carrier/transporter entity, such as an accountwith UPS for My Choice and/or the like. As will be recognized, a varietyof different accounts can be used to adapt to various needs andcircumstances.

In one embodiment, as part of the enrollment/registration process, auser (e.g., a user or user representative operating a user computingentity 110) may be requested to provide information/data (e.g.,including user information/data, biographic information/data, geographicinformation/data, device or entity information/data, paymentinformation/data, and/or the like). The information/data may be manuallyinput by a user; may be automatically provided by allowing access toother accounts, such as Amazon.com, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, PayPal,and/or the like; may be automatically collected by various computingentities (including automatic device identification); combinationsthereof; and/or other techniques and approaches. For instance, thebiographic information/data may include a user ID and/or the user'sactual name, such as a first name, a last name, a company name, anentity name, an organization name, and/or the like. As indicated, a usermay be an individual, a family, a company, an organization, an entity, adepartment within an organization, a representative of an organizationand/or person, and/or the like. The geographic information/data may alsoinclude one or more addresses associated with the user (e.g., streetaddress, city, state, postal code, and/or country). The addresses may beresidential or commercial addresses, geocodes, latitude and longitudepoints, virtual addresses, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, the user information/data may include one or morecommunication preferences that identify communication formats forcommunicating with the user. The communication formats may include textmessages (e.g., SMS, MMS), email messages, voice messages, videomessages (e.g., YouTube, the Vine), picture messages (e.g., Instagram),social media messages (e.g., private social media created internally forentities, business social media (e.g., Yammer, SocialCast), and/orpublic social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), emojis, and/ora variety of other messages in various communication formats. Inaddition to the one or more communication formats, the user (e.g.,operating a user computing entity 110) can provide the correspondingelectronic destination addresses or user IDs to be used in providinginformation/data associated with the notification/message services tothe user (e.g., email addresses, online handles, phone numbers,usernames, user IDs, etc.). For instance, for text messages, the usermay provide one or more wireless phone numbers. For email messages, theuser may provide one or more email addresses. And for voice messages,the user may provide one or more wireless or landline phone numbers orother electronic destination addresses to which audio files can bedelivered. Additionally, in one embodiment, validation operations can beperformed with respect to each input electronic destination address—toensure accuracy. As will be recognized, a variety of other types ofelectronic destination addresses can be used to adapt to various needsand circumstances.

In certain embodiments, the user (e.g., a user or user representativeoperating a user computing entity 110) may be requested to providepayment information/data. As indicated, payments (e.g., the paymentinformation/data) may be in a variety of forms, such as via debit cards,credit cards, direct credits, direct debits, cash, check, money order,Internet banking, e-commerce payment networks/systems (e.g., PayPal,Google Wallet, Amazon Payments), virtual currencies (e.g., Bitcoins),award or reward points, and/or the like. Such payments may be made usinga variety of techniques and approaches, including through NFCtechnologies such as PayPass, Android Beam, S Beam, BLE, and variousother contactless payment systems. Further, such payment technologiesmay include PayPal Beacon, Booker, Erply, Leaf, Leapset, Micros, PayPalHere, Revel, ShopKeep, TouchBistro, Vend, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, device or entity information/data may also bereceived, provided, detected, assigned, collected, requested, and/orsimilar words used herein interchangeably as part of theregistration/enrollment process. The device or entity information/datamay include one or more entity or device identifiers-phone numbers,Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) numbers, Media Access Control (MAC)addresses, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) numbers,Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, Mobile Equipment Identifiers (MEIDs),unit identifiers (e.g., GPS unit identifiers, Unique Device Identifiers(UDiDs), mobile identification numbers (MINs), IMSI_S (Short IMSIs),email addresses, usernames, user IDs, Globally Unique Identifiers(GUIDs), Integrated Circuit Card Identifiers (ICCIDs), electronic serialnumbers (ESN), International Mobile Equipment Identities (IMEIs), Wi-FiIDs, RFID tags, and/or the like. The device or entity information/datamay include a device's vendor, model, specification authority, version,components, software specification and/or version, person associatedwith the device, and/or the like. The device or entity information/datamay be used to communicate with and/or verify communications to and fromthe corresponding devices or entities.

In one embodiment, with the appropriate information/data, an appropriatecomputing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, usercomputing entity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computingentity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobile entitycommunications network) may create or update an account with a userprofile for the user via the enrollment/registration process.Accordingly, an appropriate computing entity (e.g., carrier/transportercomputing entity 100, user computing entity 110, payment computingentity 115, retailer computing entity 120, social media computing entity125, mobile entity communications network) may create, store, update,and/or have access to various accounts/user profiles and/orinformation/data associated with the accounts/user profiles. In additionto at least the information/data described above, each account/userprofile may include one or more corresponding usernames, passwords,images, tokens, challenge phrases, reminders, and/or the like (referredto herein as credentials) for accessing accounts/user profiles,applications, services, entities, and/or the like.

As will be recognized, in one embodiment, the user (e.g., operating auser computing entity 110) may provide or allow access to theinformation/data for the user's contacts, connections, associations,friends, links, followers, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably. The information/data for the user's contacts may bestored by the user's computing entity 115 and/or by various othercomputing entities. In one embodiment, with access to theinformation/data for the user's contacts, an appropriate computingentity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computingentity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120,social media computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network)can carry out or facilitate carrying actions involving the same.

In one embodiment, once an account/user profile has been created,different accounts/user profiles may be associated with one another(Block 405 of FIG. 4A). For example, an account with a retailer (e.g.,macys.com) may be associated with a social media account (e.g., Yo), anaccount with a carrier (e.g., UPS My Choice) may be associated with asocial media account (e.g., Twitter) or a wireless service account(e.g., Verizon), and/or the like. To associate accounts/user profiles, auser (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110) may providecredentials or allow access to credentials to the appropriate computingentity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computingentity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120,social media computing entity 125, mobile entity communicationsnetwork). For example, as shown in FIGS. 8-10, a user may connect asocial media account (e.g., Twitter) with a carrier account (e.g., UPS'My Choice) by providing the corresponding credentials to the appropriatecomputing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, usercomputing entity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computingentity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobile entitycommunications network). In this example, the user (e.g., operating auser computing entity 110) provides his carrier credentials to a socialmedia account. As will be recognized (see FIG. 10), any number ofcredentials may be stored by various computing for access to andcommunication with the same. In connecting accounts, users may berequired to agree to or accept the terms of services related to theaccounts they are connecting-which may include agreeing to use locationinformation/data from the user's computing entity 110 as described inU.S. application Ser. No. 13/839,398, which is hereby incorporated inits entirety by reference. Further, in other embodiments, an appropriatecomputing entity may be able to create a new account/user profile basedon information/data for an existing account. For example, for a userwith an account with the carrier/transporter entity, thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 can create a social mediaaccount for the corresponding user with the user's information/data. Forinstance, John Doe may have an account with UPS (username: JohnDoe899;password: *********). The carrier/transporter computing entity 100(e.g., UPS) can automatically register John Doe for a social mediaaccount with the social media computing entity 125 (e.g., Twitter) andconnect, link, and/or associate the accounts (See FIG. 10). By beingconnected, linked, and/or associated, information/data can be sharedbetween the various entities to carry out various actions.

In one embodiment, by associating accounts with one another, a user mayallow the appropriate computing entities (e.g., carrier/transportercomputing entity 100, user computing entity 110, payment computingentity 115, retailer computing entity 120, social media computing entity125, mobile entity communications network) to view messages sent orreceived by the user. For example, a carrier/transporter computingentity 100 may have access to a user's social media messages. A mobileentity communications network may have access to a user's carriermessages. A payment computing entity 115 may have access to a user'ssocial media messages. An electronic message/notification may be anemail message, a text-based message, an SMS message, an MMS message, atweet, a retweet, a Yo, a notification, a status update, a post, adirect message, a picture, an image, a graphic, a video, a webpage, anicon-based message, a flash, a reply, a response, an update, a share, avote, a blog, a reblog, a checkin, a tag, a presence, an event, a groupmessage, a chat, a view, a read, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably depending on the platform/application being used. Aswill be recognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques can beused to adapt to various needs and circumstances.

2. Exemplary Carrier Server Entity Action Identifiers

In one embodiment, an electronic message/notification may include one ormore action identifiers. An action identifier may be one or morealphanumeric characters, symbols, images, sounds, icons, smileys,ideograms, colors, graphics, strings, codes, barcodes, tags, AztecCodes, MaxiCodes, Data Matrices, Quick Response (QR) Codes, electronicrepresentations, and/or the like. An action identifier may identifyand/or trigger/initiate one or more actions that are to be carried outby an appropriate computing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computingentity 100, user computing entity 110, payment computing entity 115,retailer computing entity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobileentity communications network). Exemplary action identifiers are shownin FIGS. 11, 12, 13A, and 13B.

In FIG. 11, #Track is an action identifier that is used totrigger/initiate tracking the item identified in or associated with themessage. In FIG. 12, *Track is an action identifier that is used totrigger/initiate tracking the item identified in or associated with themessage. In FIG. 13A, the symbol

is an action identifier that is used to trigger/initiate tracking theitem identified in or associated with the message. In FIG. 13B, thegraphic/icon

is an action identifier that is used to track the item identified in orassociated with the message. Although not shown, other actionidentifiers may include advertising action identifiers (e.g.,#Advertising) that trigger/initiate advertising to users/parties basedon an item purchased or the shipping status of an item, for example.Other action identifiers may include location identifiers (e.g., #Geo)to determine/identify the location of users/parties, visibilityidentifiers to determine/identify the status of items or processes,and/or the like.

In FIG. 11, #Ship is an action identifier that is used totrigger/initiate shipment of an item. In FIG. 12, //Ship is an actionidentifier that is used to trigger/initiate shipment of an item. In FIG.13A, the symbol n is an action identifier that is used totrigger/initiate shipment of an item. In FIG. 13B, the graphic/icon

is an action identifier that is used to trigger/initiate shipment of anitem.

In FIG. 11, #PayShip is an action identifier that is used totrigger/initiate payment for and shipment of the item identified in orassociated with the message. In FIG. 12, $$PayShip is an actionidentifier that is used to trigger/initiate payment for and shipment ofthe item identified in or associated with the message. In FIG. 13A, thesymbol

is an action identifier that is used to trigger/initiate payment for andshipment of the item identified in or associated with the message. InFIG. 13B, the graphic/icon

is an action identifier that is used to trigger/initiate payment for andshipment of the item identified in or associated with the message.Further, #SocialBuy, * SocialBuy, #GroupBuy, *GroupBuy are actionidentifiers that are used to trigger/initiate the purchase of one ormore items identified in or associated with the message in accordancewith the corresponding group buying rules and/or social buying rules.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, #TrackUPS and *TrackUPS are actionidentifiers that are used to trigger/initiate tracking of the itemidentified in or associated with the message using UPS. Similarly,#TrackCarrierName and *TrackCarrierName are action identifiers that areused to trigger/initiate tracking of the item identified in orassociated with the message using the identified carrier/transporterentity.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, #ShipUPS and //ShipUPS are action identifiers thatare used to trigger/initiate physical shipment of an item using UPS.Similarly, #ShipCarrierName and //ShipCarrierName are action identifiersthat are used to trigger/initiate physical shipment of an item frompoint A to point B using the identified carrier/transporter entity.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, #PayShipUPS and $$PayShipUPS are action identifiersthat are used to trigger/initiate payment for the item and shipment ofthe item identified in or associated with the message using UPS. Theseaction identifiers can also trigger payment disbursement to the sellerfor the item. Further, #SocialBuyUPS, *SocialBuyUPS, #GroupBuyUPS, and *GroupBuyUPS are action identifiers that are used to trigger/initiate thepurchase of one or more items identified in or associated with themessage using UPS in accordance with the corresponding group buyingrules and/or social buying rules. As also shown in FIGS. 11 and 12,#PayShipCarrierName and $$PayShipCarrierName are action identifiers thatare used to trigger/initiate payment for and shipment of the itemidentified in or associated with the message using the identifiedcarrier/transporter entity. And *GroupBuyRetailerName and *SocialBuyRetailerName are action identifiers that are used totrigger/initiate purchase of one or more items identified in orassociated with the message using the identified retailer in accordancewith the corresponding group buying rules and/or social buying rules.

As will be recognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques canbe used to adapt to various needs and circumstances. For instance, asalso shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, (1) #UPSPackage and *UPSPackage areaction identifiers that are used to trigger/initiatedetermining/identifying and/or providing the status of an item usingUPS, (2) #UPSDriver and *UPSDriver are action identifiers that are usedto trigger/initiate determining/identifying and/or providing the statusof the driver delivering an item using UPS, and (3) #UPSVehicle,*UPSVehicle, #UPSCar, and *UPSCar are action identifiers that are usedto trigger/initiate determining/identifying and/or providing thelocation of the vehicle or car delivering an item using UPS. Further,(1) #UPSNDA and *UPSNDA are action identifiers that are used totrigger/initiate changing the delivery service level of an item to NextDay Air, (2) #UPS2DA and *UPS2DA are action identifiers that are used totrigger/initiate changing the delivery service level of an item toSecond Day Air, and (3) #UPSGND and *UPSGND are action identifiers thatare used to trigger/initiate changing the delivery service level of anitem to Ground. Exemplary delivery service level may include Next DayAir, Overnight, Express, Next Day Air Early AM, Next Day Air Saver,Jetline, Sprintline, Secureline, 2nd Day Air, Priority, 2nd Day AirEarly AM, 3 Day Select, Ground, Standard, First Class, Media Mail,SurePost, Freight, and/or the like. And (1) #UPSHold and *UPSHold areaction identifiers that are used to trigger/initiate holding an itemfrom delivery and (2) #UPSRedelivery and *UPSRedelivery are actionidentifiers that are used to trigger/initiate attempting redelivery ofan item. As will be recognized, various other action identifiers can beused-including YES, NO, BUY, ORDER, PURCHASE, SELL, and/or the like.Such action identifiers can be used to trigger/initiate most any actionby the appropriate computing entities (e.g., carrier/transportercomputing entity 100, user computing entity 110, payment computingentity 115, retailer computing entity 120, social media computing entity125, mobile entity communications network).

In one embodiment, a user's account can define default entities forcarrying out various actions. For example, a user's account can becustomized to define UPS as the default carrier to use for shipmentsshipped using #Ship action identifiers. The user's account can alsodefine payment defaults or preferences, delivery defaults orpreferences, packaging defaults or preferences, delivery service leveldefaults or preferences, and/or the like. Other customizations,defaults, and preferences can be used to adapt to various needs andcircumstances.

3. Exemplary Use Cases

Select uses cases are provided below to assist in understandingembodiments of the present invention.

a. Exemplary Use Case 1: Physically Shipping an Item and Paying forShipping

The following use case describes a user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) triggering/initiating the physical shipment of oneor more items by providing an electronic message/notification with anappropriate action identifier as part of the electronicmessage/notification.

As indicated in Block 410 of FIG. 4A, a user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) can provide an electronic message/notification toany of a variety of users/parties and/or entities. As previouslydescribed, an electronic message/notification may be an email message, atext-based message, an SMS message, an MMS message, a tweet, a retweet,a Yo, a notification, a status update, a post, a direct message, apicture, an image, a graphic, a video, an icon-based message, a flash, areply, a response, an update, a share, a vote, a blog, a reblog, acheckin, a tag, a presence, an event, a group message, a chat, a view, aread, and/or the like depending on the platform/application being used.In this example, as shown in FIG. 14, John (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 115) sends an SMS text message to Bill (404.777.8989).The SMS text message identifies both John's phone number and Bill'sphone (e.g., the electronic destination addresses for thiscommunication). Further, in this example, the body of the SMS textmessage also includes the action identifier #ShipUPS. Although thefollowing example is described in the context of an SMS text message,any other type of messaging platform/application can be used.

After John (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110) provides themessage (e.g., sends, transmits, posts, initiates, and/or similar wordused herein interchangeably), an appropriate computing entity cananalyze the message (Block 415 of FIG. 4A). Analyzing the message mayinclude determining/identifying the users/parties of the message (e.g.,consignor/sender and consignee/intended recipient of the SMS textmessage) and determining/identifying whether any action identifiers arepresent in the message. That is, an appropriate computing entity candetermine/identify whether any action identifiers in the form ofalphanumeric characters, symbols, images, sounds, icons, smileys,ideograms, colors, graphics, strings, codes, barcodes, tags, AztecCodes, MaxiCodes, Data Matrices, QR Codes, electronic representations,and/or the like are present in the message. Depending on the platformbeing used, a variety of computing entities can perform this function.For example, the user computing entity 110 (e.g., the sender's computingentity) can analyze the message before, after, or simultaneous toproviding the message to, for example, a mobile entity communicationsnetwork. In another example, a mobile entity communications network cananalyze the message before, after, or simultaneous to providing themessage to a computing entity of the intended recipient of the message.And in yet other examples, a carrier/transporter computing entity 100, apayment computing entity 115, a retailer computing entity 120, and/or asocial media computing entity 125 can analyze the message.

In one embodiment, if an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network)determines/identifies that no action identifiers are present in themessage (Blocks 415 and 420 of FIG. 4B), the message can follow thenormal message flow (Block 425 of FIG. 4B). In this particular example,the SMS text message will be provided by the mobile entitycommunications network to a computing entity of the intended recipientof the message as the normal message flow. However, if an appropriatecomputing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, usercomputing entity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computingentity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobile entitycommunications network) determines/identifies that one or more actionidentifiers are present in the message (Blocks 415 and 420 of FIG. 4B),an appropriate computing entity can then determine/identify theusers/parties of the message and determine/identify whether theusers/parties of the message are properly registered/enrolled. To do so,the identity of each user/party needs to be determinable/identifiablefrom the message. In this case, the identities of the users/parties aredeterminable/identifiable based on the phone numbers in the message.That is, an appropriate computing entity can use the phone numbers inthe message to identify the corresponding accounts/user profiles of theusers/parties. In this case, an appropriate computing entity can use thephone numbers as lookups with the appropriate entity (e.g., using anAPI) to determine/identify the corresponding accounts/user profiles.That is, an appropriate computing entity can identify the accounts/userprofiles that correspond to the sender of the message (e.g., consignor)and the intended recipient of the message (e.g., consignee). In othercontexts, depending on the messaging platform/application, theidentities of the users/parties can be determinable/identifiable fromonline handles, usernames, user IDs, screen names, and/or the like. Forinstance, in the Twitter context, John's identity can bedetermined/identified from his Twitter handle (@JohnDoe899), and Bill'sidentity can be similarly determined/identified. That is, theiraccounts/user profiles can be determined/identified from their Twitterhandles.

By identifying the corresponding accounts/user profiles, additionalinformation/data about the users/parties can be obtained, includingtheir physical shipping addresses. That is, the phone numbers, onlinehandles, usernames, user IDs, screen names, and/or the like can be usedto resolve information/data about the users, including paymentinformation/data, demographic information/data, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, with the identities of the users/partiesdetermined/identified, an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network) candetermine/identify whether the users/parties are properlyregistered/enrolled (Block 435 of FIG. 4B). In this example, theusers/parties need to be registered/enrolled for an account with thecarrier/transporter for transportation and logistics services. For anyusers/parties not properly registered/enrolled with thecarrier/transporter entity (or other entities in different contexts), anappropriate computing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity100, user computing entity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailercomputing entity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobile entitycommunications network) can require proper enrollment/registration tocarry out the one or more actions corresponding to the one or moreaction identifiers (Block 430 of FIG. 4B). For example, an appropriatecomputing entity can provide a message or link or requestinformation/data to assist in registering/enrolling any users. Theregistration/enrollment may be a “full” registration/enrollment (e.g.,complete registration/enrollment) or a “lite” registration/enrollment(e.g., partial registration/enrollment) using information/data knownabout or collected/obtained from the users/parties.

In other embodiments, users/parties do not necessarily need to beregistered/enrolled with any particular entity. In one example in theshipping context, if one or both users/parties are notregistered/enrolled with the carrier/transporter, thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 can obtain/requestinformation/data about the users/parties from an appropriate computingentity. For instance, the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 cansend a request to the mobile entity communications network (e.g.,Mobile, Vodafone, Telefónica, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Qtel, ChinaUnicom, Airtel, and/or the like) of the users/parties in this case fortheir information/data using their phone numbers as the lookup or key.The request may be a request for the physical addresses of theusers/parties (e.g., resolve the phone numbers to physical addresses),for payment information/data for paying for shipping (e.g., resolve thephone numbers to payment information/data), and/or the like. The mobileentity communications networks can determine/identify the requestedinformation/data and respond with the same. In another example in theshipping context, the carrier/transporter computing entity 100determine/identify the physical addresses from previous pickups ordeliveries from the users/parties, previous histories and/orinteractions with the users/parties, and/or the like. As will berecognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques can be used toadapt to various needs and circumstances.

In one embodiment, with the identities of the users/partiesdetermined/identified and the users/parties properly registered/enrolled(if necessary), an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network) candetermine/identify whether any action requirements (if applicable) aresatisfied or met (Block 440 of FIG. 4B). In this example, the actionrequirements may require the payment information/data to bedeterminable/identifiable, the payment information/data to be confirmedif multiple payment options are available (if there isn't a defaultoption, for instance), the delivery service level to be provided, and/orto have the physical addresses confirmed if multiple address areassociated with the profiles (if there isn't a default option, forinstance) or if a different delivery location is desired. If anyapplicable action requirements are not satisfied or met, an appropriatecomputing entity can provide a notification/message to the users/parties(e.g., consignors/senders and consignees/intended recipients) regardingthe same (Block 445 of FIG. 4B). For example, this may include thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 providing anotification/message to the sender/consignor requesting details of theweight, size, and delivery service level of the item or confirming whicha plurality of address or payment options to use. If any applicableaction requirements are satisfied or met, an appropriate computingentity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computingentity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120,social media computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network)can initiate/trigger the action and provide notifications/messages tothe users/parties regarding the same (Blocks 450 and 455 of FIG. 4B).The messages/notifications may be provided as a reply to the sender'smessage, for instance, and/or in compliance with any communicationpreferences. For example, FIG. 15 is a confirmation message provided tothe user (e.g., sender) that the request to ship an item has beenreceived. The message may also provide further instructions to the user.

As will be recognized, an item may be any tangible, physical, orelectronic object data structure, application, and/or the like. Suchitems may comprise the ability to communicate with other items for avariety of purposes. Thus, as used herein, the term item should beconstrued in a broad sense.

As also indicated, an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network) cantrigger/initiate the one or more actions corresponding to the actionidentifiers. In this example, the mobile entity communications networkanalyzes the message and triggers/initiates the shipping action. To doso, the mobile entity communications network can provide a message tothe carrier/transporter computing entity 100 indicating that John(555.888.1212) plans to ship an item to Bill (404.777.8989). Based onthe message provided by the mobile entity communications network, thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 can identify theaccounts/profiles for John and Bill using their phone numbers as lookupsor keys (or other information/data) and automatically generate/create anitem/shipment record for the same. In other examples, theaccounts/profiles can be determined/identified from online handles,usernames, user IDs, screen names, emojis, characters, images, icons,text, colors, and/or the like. The shipping record may includeinformation/data about the sender/consignor, the consignee/intendedrecipient of the item, the item, the delivery service level for theitem, payment information/data, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, in addition to generating/creating a shipping record,the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 can automatically providean item/shipment label (corresponding to the item/shipment record) to beprinted and affixed to the item/shipment. The item/shipment label can beaffixed by the sender/consignor and/or the carrier/transporter. Inanother embodiment, John can tender the item/shipment to thecarrier/transporter with only the phone numbers of Bill and John on theexterior of the packaging of the item/shipment (see FIG. 16A)—or onlinehandles, usernames, user IDs, screen names, and/or the like in othercontexts. In the label less example, the carrier/transporter computingentity 100 can identify the corresponding item/shipment record based onthe phone numbers for Bill and John once the item/shipment is receivedby the carrier/transporter. The carrier/transporter computing entity 100can then verify the item/shipment by determining/identifying thecorresponding shipping record, generate/create a label to be applied tothe exterior of the item/shipment if not already affixed, update thecorresponding item/shipment record to indicate the relevant activity,determine/identify the weight and size of the item/shipment (e.g.,including determining/identifying the dim weight of the item/shipment),determine/identify the transportations costs to be charged fortransporting the item/shipment, charge the transportation costs fortransporting the item/shipment, and allow the item/shipment to betransported through the carrier's transportation and logistics network.This may involve one or more carriers/transporters as described U.S.Pat. Nos. 8,712,923 and 8,712,922, which are hereby incorporated intheir entireties by reference.

In one embodiment, instead of or in addition to the phone numbers beingon the outside of the package for the item/shipment, thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 can provide a unique identifier(e.g., ARG159E shown in FIG. 16B) to the sender to be applied to theexterior of the package to identify individual items/shipments (e.g., ifJohn sends multiple shipments to Bill) and/or as a further controlmeasure. In one embodiment, such unique identifiers may be representedas text, barcodes, tags, character strings, Aztec Codes, MaxiCodes, DataMatrices, QR Codes, electronic representations, and/or the like. Suchconcepts are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,463, which his herebyincorporated in its entirety by reference.

b. Exemplary Use Case 2: Purchasing and Paying for an Item and Payingfor Physical Shipment of the Item

The following use case describes a user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) purchasing one or more items by providing amessage/notification with an appropriate action identifier as part ofthe electronic message/notification.

A user (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110) can be providedwith and view advertisements in a variety of user-friendly ways. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 17, a user (e.g., operating a user computingentity 110) can be provided with and view an electronic advertisementfor a book as a tweet or advertisement/message in a Twitter timeline. Asshown in FIG. 20, a user (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110)can be provided with and view an electronic advertisement for a book aspart of her news feed. And as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a user (e.g.,operating a user computing entity 110) can be provided with and view anelectronic advertisement for a book from a text message that includes aURL to an address with additional details about the book. In thefollowing example, the book is being sold by a retailer, which can beany entity large or small. As will be recognized, a variety of otherapproaches and techniques can be used to adapt to various needs andcircumstances.

After viewing the electronic advertisement, the user may decide that shewants to purchase the book. To purchase the book, the user may simplyfollow the instructions in the electronic advertisement. In FIG. 17, theinstructions indicate that the user (e.g., operating a user computingentity 110) should simply reply to the tweet or advertisement/messageand include #PayShipUPS in the reply. In FIG. 20, the instructionsindicate that the user (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110)should share or comment on the electronic advertisement and include#PayShipUPS as part of the share or comment. And in FIGS. 23 and 24, theinstructions indicate that the user (e.g., operating a user computingentity 110) should reply to the text message with YES or #PayShipUPS. Ineach of these examples, the reply, share, comment, and text message areall considered messages/notifications. As previously noted, electronicmessages/notifications may be any form of electronic communicationincluding email messages, text-based messages, SMS messages, MMSmessages, tweets, retweets, Yos, notifications, status updates, posts,direct messages, pictures, videos, icon-based messages, flashes,replies, responses, updates, shares, votes, blogs, reblogs, checkins,tags, presences, events, group messages, chats, views, reads, and/or thelike depending on the platform/application being used. In theseexamples, the user provides a message by replying to the tweet oradvertisement/message, commenting on or sharing the electronicadvertisement, and/or responding to the text message. Each of these isshown in FIGS. 18, 21, and 25. In FIG. 18, the user (e.g., operating auser computing entity 110) provides a message by replying to the tweetor advertisement/message (from @JohnDoe899 to @XYZCo with the actionidentifier of #PayShipUPS). In FIG. 19, the user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) provides a message by commenting on or sharing theitem in the news feed with #PayShipUPS. And in FIG. 25, the user (e.g.,operating a user computing entity 110) provides a message by replying tothe text message with the electronic advertisement with the text#PayShipUPS (or YES in the other example).

In each of the above examples, the parties to the sales/purchasetransaction are either included as part of the message and/or aredeterminable/identifiable from information/data in the message. Forexample, in FIG. 19, the parties are determinable/identifiable by theirTwitter IDs in the message. The buyer is @JohnDoes899, and the retaileris @XYZCo. In FIG. 21, the parties are similarlydeterminable/identifiable: the buyer is John Doe (johndoe7), and theretailer is XYZ Co. In FIG. 25, the parties aredeterminable/identifiable from the phone numbers used to send andreceive the text messages: the buyer is 555.888.1212, and the retaileris 87994. Further, in each message, an action identifier is included. Inthese particular examples, the action identifiers are #ShipUPS and YES.

In one embodiment, the item and quantity being purchased can beidentifiable/determinable in a variety of ways. For example, the itemcan be identified/determined as a response to an electronicadvertisement. That is, the response can be linked to or associated withthe electronic advertisement to determine/identify the item beingpurchased. Responses to the advertisement then can be used toautomatically identify the item. In other examples, the message with theaction identifier can include a URL to the item, the name of the item,the color of the item, the size of the item, the style of the item, thequantity of the item, the stock keeping unit (SKU) number of the item,and/or the like. Using this information or data, an appropriatecomputing entity can identify the item from the message, for example,using the URL, name, or SKU. As will be recognized, a variety of otherapproaches and techniques can be used to adapt to various needs andcircumstances to identify the appropriate items for purchase.

After John (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110) provides themessage (e.g., sends, transmits, posts, initiates, and/or similar wordused herein interchangeably), an appropriate computing entity cananalyze the message (Block 415 of FIG. 4A). Analyzing the message mayinclude determining/identifying the parties of the message (as notedabove) and determining/identifying whether any action identifiers arepresent in the message. That is, an appropriate computing entity candetermine/identify whether any action identifiers in the form ofalphanumeric characters, symbols, images, sounds, icons, smileys,ideograms, colors, graphics, strings, codes, barcodes, tags, AztecCodes, MaxiCodes, Data Matrices, QR Codes, electronic representations,and/or the like are present in the message. Depending on the platformbeing used, a variety of computing entities can perform this function.For example, in FIGS. 17-19, the user computing entity 110 (e.g., thesender's computing entity) can analyze the message before, after, orsimultaneous to providing the message to, for example, a mobile entitycommunications network. Or, a mobile entity communications network cananalyze the message before, after, or simultaneous to providing themessage to a computing entity of the intended recipient of the message.In FIGS. 17-19 and 23-26, the user computing entity 110 (e.g., thesender's computing entity) can analyze the message before, after, orsimultaneous to providing the message to, for example, a mobile entitycommunications network. Or, a social media computing entity 125 or amobile entity communications network can analyze the message. As will berecognized, a carrier/transporter computing entity 100, a paymentcomputing entity 115, or a retailer computing entity 120 can alsoanalyze the message depending on the platform and configuration.

In one embodiment, if an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network)determines/identifies that no action identifiers are present in themessage (Block 420 of FIG. 4B), the message can follow the normalmessage flow (Block 425 of FIG. 4B). However, if an appropriatecomputing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, usercomputing entity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computingentity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobile entitycommunications network) determines/identifies that one or more actionidentifiers are present in the message (Blocks 415 and 420 of FIG. 4B),an appropriate computing entity can then determine/identify theusers/parties of the message and determine/identify whether theusers/parties of the message are properly registered/enrolled. To do so,the identity of each user needs to be determinable/identifiable from themessage. In the described examples, the identities of the users/partiesare determinable/identifiable based on their phone numbers, Twitter IDs,and/or user IDs. That is, an appropriate computing entity can use thephone numbers, Twitter IDs, and/or user IDs as lookups with theappropriate entity (e.g., using APIs) to determine/identify thecorresponding accounts/user profiles. In other contexts, depending onthe messaging platform/application, the identities of the users/partiescan be determinable/identifiable from online handles, usernames, screennames, device IDs, and/or the like.

By identifying the corresponding accounts/user profiles, additionalinformation/data about the users/parties can be obtained, including thepurchasing party's physical shipping address and paymentinformation/data. That is, the phone numbers, online handles, usernames,user IDs, screen names, and/or the like can be used to resolveinformation/data about the users, including payment information/data,physical address information/data, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, with the identities of the users/partiesdetermined/identified from the message, an appropriate computing entity(e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network) candetermine/identify whether the users/parties are properlyregistered/enrolled (Block 435 of FIG. 4B). In this example, theusers/parties need to be registered/enrolled for an account with thecarrier/transporter for transportation and logistics services. In otherexamples, registration with other entities may be required. For anyusers/parties not properly registered/enrolled, an appropriate computingentity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computingentity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120,social media computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network)can require proper enrollment/registration to carry out the one or moreactions corresponding to the one or more action identifiers (Block 430of FIG. 4B). For example, an appropriate computing entity can provide amessage or link or request information/data to assist inregistering/enrolling each user if necessary. Theregistration/enrollment may be a full registration/enrollment (e.g.,complete registration/enrollment) or a lite registration/enrollment(e.g., partial registration/enrollment) using information/data knownabout or collected/obtained from the users/parties.

In other embodiments, users/parties do not necessarily need to beregistered/enrolled with any particular entity. If the users/parties arenot registered/enrolled with the carrier/transporter, thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 can obtain/requestinformation/data about the users/parties from an appropriate computingentity. For instance, the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 cansend requests to user computing entities 110, payment computing entities115, retailer computing entities 120, social media computing entities125, mobile entity communications entities, and/or the like of theusers/parties in these examples for various information/data. Therequest may be for their physical addresses, payment information/data,and/or the like. In other examples, information/data from previouspickups or deliveries from the users/parties, previous histories and/orinteractions with the users, previous histories and/or purchasetransactions with the users, and/or the like. As will be recognized, avariety of other approaches and techniques can be used to adapt tovarious needs and circumstances.

In one embodiment, with the identities of the users/partiesdetermined/identified and the users/parties properly registered/enrolled(if necessary), an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network) candetermine whether any action requirements (if applicable) are satisfiedor met (Block 440 of FIG. 4B). In this example, the action requirementsmay require the payment information/data to bedeterminable/identifiable, the payment information/data to be confirmedif multiple payment options are available (if there isn't a defaultoption, for instance), the delivery service level to be provided, and/orto have the physical addresses confirmed if multiple address areassociated with the profiles (if there isn't a default option, forinstance) or if a different delivery location is desired. If anyapplicable action requirements are not satisfied or met, an appropriatecomputing entity can provide a notification/message to the users/parties(e.g., senders and/or intended recipients) of the same (Block 445 ofFIG. 4B). If any applicable action requirements are not satisfied ormet, an appropriate computing entity can provide a notification/messageto the users/parties (e.g., consignors/senders and consignees/intendedrecipients) regarding the same (Block 445 of FIG. 4B). For example, thismay include the carrier/transporter computing entity 100 providing anotification/message to the sender/consignor requesting detailsconfirming which a plurality of address or payment options to use.

If any applicable action requirements are satisfied or met, anappropriate computing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity100, user computing entity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailercomputing entity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobile entitycommunications network) can initiate/trigger the action and providenotifications/messages to the users/parties regarding the same (Blocks450 and 455 of FIG. 4B). In this example, an appropriate computingentity triggers/initiates the purchase of the book (for the specifiedquantity) from the retailer and the shipping the book using UPS.

To initiate/trigger purchase of the book, an appropriate computingentity can provide a message/notification to the retailer computingentity 120 with details regarding the sales/purchase transaction. In oneembodiment, the details of the sales/purchase transactions can beprovided periodically, regularly, or in response to certain triggersusing a flat file, for example. In another embodiment, the details canbe provided to the retailer computing 120 via real-time messages. FIG.27 shows a real-time message from an appropriate computing entity to aretailer computing entity 120 with the details of a sales/purchasetransaction. The message can identify the purchasing party based on theuser's/party's Twitter ID, phone number, or user ID. Based on themessage provided, an appropriate computing entity can determine/identify(e.g., resolve) the accounts/profiles for any parties using the TwitterIDs, phone numbers, or user ID. As part of initiating/triggering thepurchase of the book, an appropriate computing entity caninitiate/trigger payment for the book and the transfer of the requisitefunds to any appropriate entities/parties (e.g., retailers,carriers/transporters, shippers). For example, an appropriate computingentity may charge a user's/party's credit card or account and/ortransfer the funds to the retailer's account (with or without a servicefee). As will be recognized, this may also include thecarrier/transporter warehousing goods for retailers and packaging,shipping, and transporting the goods. In such a case, thecarrier/transporter can perform many or all of the actions of aretailer. Further, this may include carriers/transporters beingretailers in e-commerce.

An appropriate computing entity can also provide a message to thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 of the sales/purchasetransaction. The carrier/transporter computing entity 100 can identifythe accounts/profiles for users/parties of the sales/purchasetransaction and generate/create an item/shipment record for the sameusing the Twitter IDs, phone numbers, user IDs, and/or the like. Thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 can then automaticallygenerate/create a label to be applied to the exterior of theitem/shipment. However, as previously described, the item/shipment canbe tendered to the carrier/transporter with or without a label. Iftendered without a label (and with or without a unique identifier), theexterior of the package should include the appropriate users, parties,online handles, usernames, user IDs, screen names, phone numbers, deviceIDs, and/or the like (see FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, and 16D). This will allowthe carrier/transporter computing entity 100 to verify the item/shipmentby determining/identifying the corresponding shipping record,generate/create a label to be applied to the exterior of theitem/shipment if not already affixed, update the correspondingitem/shipment record to indicate the relevant activity,determine/identify the weight and size of the item/shipment (e.g.,including determining/identifying the dim weight of the item/shipment),determine/identify the transportations costs to be charged fortransporting the item/shipment, charge the transportation costs fortransporting the item/shipment, and allow the item/shipment to betransported through the carrier's transportation and logistics network.

In one embodiment, an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile device communications networks) canprovide a confirmation message/notification for the sales/purchasetransaction to various the various users/parties (Block 455 of FIG. 4B).As will be recognized, such confirmation messages/notifications canprovided in a variety of ways. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, anappropriate computing entity can provide an electronicmessage/notification in the user's Twitter timeline that thesales/purchase transaction was completed for her. In FIG. 22, theelectronic message/notification is provided in the Facebooknotifications section with a callout. And in FIG. 26, the electronicmessage/notification is a text message to the user confirming thesales/purchase transaction. As will be recognized, themessages/notifications can include various advertisements as describedin U.S. application Ser. Nos. 14/472,922 and 14/472,895, which arehereby incorporated in their entireties by reference. As will berecognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques can be used toadapt to various needs and circumstances.

c. Exemplary Use Case 3: Purchasing and Paying for an Item in a Socialor Group Context and Paying for Physical Shipment of the Item

The following use case describes a user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) purchasing one or more items by providing messageswith appropriate action identifiers as part of themessages/notifications.

A user (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110) can be providedwith and view advertisements in a variety of user-friendly ways. Forexample, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, a user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) can be provided with and view an electronicadvertisement for towels as a tweet or advertisement/message in aTwitter timeline. After viewing the electronic advertisement, the usermay decide that she wants to purchase the towels. To purchase thetowels, the user may simply follow the instructions in the electronicadvertisement. In FIG. 28, the instructions indicate that the user(e.g., operating a user computing entity 110) should simply reply to thetweet or advertisement/message and include #GroupBuyUPS in the reply. InFIG. 29, the instructions indicate that the user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) should simply reply to the tweet oradvertisement/message and include #SocialBuyUPS in the reply. In theseexamples, the user provides a message by replying to the tweet oradvertisement/message. In FIG. 30, the user (e.g., operating a usercomputing entity 110) provides a message by replying to the tweet orelectronic advertisement/message (from @JohnDoe899 to @XYZCo with theaction identifier of #GroupBuyUPS).

In the above example, the parties to the sales/purchase transaction areeither included as part of the message and/or aredeterminable/identifiable from information/data in the message. Forexample, in FIG. 30, the parties are determinable/identifiable by theirTwitter IDs in the message. The buyer is @JohnDoes899, and the retaileris @XYZCo. In this example, the action identifier is #GroupBuyUPS. Inone embodiment, the item and quantity being purchased can beidentifiable/determinable in a variety of ways. For example, the itemcan be identified/determined as a response to an electronicadvertisement. That is, the response can be linked to or associated withthe electronic advertisement to determine/identify the item beingpurchased. Responses to the advertisement then can be used toautomatically identify the item. In other examples, the message with theaction identifier can include a URL to the item, the name of the item,the color of the item, the size of the item, the style of the item, thequantity of the item, the SKU number of the item, and/or the like. Usingthis information or data, an appropriate computing entity can identifythe item from the message, for example, using the URL, name, or SKU. Aswill be recognized, a variety of other approaches and techniques can beused to adapt to various needs and circumstances to identify theappropriate items for purchase.

After John (e.g., operating a user computing entity 110) provides themessage (e.g., sends, transmits, posts, initiates, and/or similar wordused herein interchangeably), an appropriate computing entity cananalyze the message (Block 415 of FIG. 4A). Analyzing the message mayinclude determining/identifying the parties of the message (as notedabove) and determining/identifying whether any action identifiers arepresent in the message. Depending on the platform being used, a varietyof computing entities can analyze the message. In this example, the usercomputing entity 110 (e.g., the sender's computing entity) can analyzethe message before, after, or simultaneous to providing the message to,for example, a mobile entity communications network. Or, a social mediacomputing entity 125 or a mobile entity communications network cananalyze the message.

In one embodiment, if an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network)determines/identifies that no action identifiers are present in themessage (Block 420 of FIG. 4B), the message can follow the normalmessage flow (Block 425 of FIG. 4B). However, if an appropriatecomputing entity determines/identifies that one or more actionidentifiers are present in the message (Block 420 of FIG. 4B), anappropriate computing entity can then determine/identify theusers/parties of the message and whether the users/parties of themessage are properly registered/enrolled. To do so, the identity of eachuser needs to be determinable/identifiable from the message. In thisexample, the identities of the users/parties aredeterminable/identifiable based on their Twitter IDs. That is, anappropriate computing entity can use the Twitter IDs as lookups with theappropriate entity (e.g., using APIs) to determine/identify thecorresponding accounts/user profiles. In other contexts, depending onthe messaging platform/application, the identities of the users/partiescan be determinable/identifiable from online handles, usernames, screennames, device IDs, and/or the like. Thus, the Twitter IDs, phonenumbers, online handles, usernames, user IDs, screen names, and/or thelike can be used to resolve information/data about the users, includingpayment information/data, physical address information/data, and/or thelike.

In one embodiment, with the identities of the users/partiesdetermined/identified from the message, an appropriate computing entity(e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network) candetermine/identify whether the users/parties are properlyregistered/enrolled (Block 435 of FIG. 4B). In this example, theusers/parties need to be registered/enrolled for an account with thecarrier/transporter for transportation and logistics services. In otherexamples, registration with other entities may be required. For anyusers/parties not properly registered/enrolled, an appropriate computingentity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computingentity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120,social media computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network)can require proper enrollment/registration to carry out the one or moreactions corresponding to the one or more action identifiers (Block 430of FIG. 4B). For example, an appropriate computing entity can provide amessage or link or request information/data to assist inregistering/enrolling each user if necessary. Theregistration/enrollment may be a full registration/enrollment (e.g.,complete registration/enrollment) or a lite registration/enrollment(e.g., partial registration/enrollment) using information/data knownabout or collected/obtained from the users/parties. As previouslydescribed, in other embodiments, users/parties do not necessarily needto be registered/enrolled with any particular entity. In suchembodiments, information/data about the users/parties may be availablefrom previous pickups or deliveries from the users/parties, previoushistories and/or interactions with the users, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, with the identities of the users/partiesdetermined/identified and the users/parties properlyregistered/enrolled, an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile entity communications network) candetermine whether any action requirements (if applicable) are satisfiedor met (Block 440 of FIG. 4B). In this example, the action requirementsmay require the user/party to order a minimum number of items (e.g., 50towels), to live in or request delivery in a specific geographic area(e.g., Anytown USA), and/or the like. For instance, social or groupbuying may only be available for delivery or pick up in Anytown USA toavoid shipping costs and/or to limit or reduce shipping costs. Asdescribed above, this may require an appropriate computing entity toresolve any phone numbers, user IDs, and/or the like to the physicallocations of the users/parties and/or to their intended deliverylocations. Examples of such concepts are described in U.S. Appl. Nos.61/792,866, 61/793,307, and U.S. 61/734,803, which are herebyincorporated in their entireties by reference. For instance, appropriatecomputing entity (e.g., carrier computing entity 100, user computingentity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120,social media computing entity 125, mobile device communicationsnetworks) can track multiple purchase requests to determine/identifywhether the action requirements are satisfied. For instance, for thepurchase by @JohnDoe899, the appropriate computing entity may notcomplete the purchase transaction until a sufficient number ofusers/parties in the identified geographic area provide purchaserequests. Thus, the appropriate computing entity can track and executemultiple group or social purchases of the advertised items. Forinstance, an appropriate computing entity may track a group purchases inzip codes 30309, 23855, and 32809 at the same time. And only when theaction requirements are satisfied will the appropriate computing entitycarry out the purchase for each of the identified users/parties. If anyapplicable action requirements are not satisfied or met, an appropriatecomputing entity can provide a notification/message to the users/parties(e.g., senders and/or intended recipients) of the same. For example, ifJohn user (e.g., operating a user computing entity 115) were to attemptto order 30 towels or request delivery to some location other thanAnytown USA, an appropriate computing entity could provide anotification/message identifying the purchasing parameters. Similarly,the notification/message may indicate that three other purchases areneeded in 20 minutes to carry out or complete the purchase for theusers/parties in a given group. As will be recognized, a variety ofother approaches and techniques can be used to adapt to various needsand circumstances.

If any applicable action requirements are satisfied or met, anappropriate computing entity (e.g., carrier/transporter computing entity100, user computing entity 110, payment computing entity 115, retailercomputing entity 120, social media computing entity 125, mobile entitycommunications network) can initiate/trigger the action and providenotifications/messages to the users/parties regarding the same (Blocks450 and 455 of FIG. 4B). In this example, an appropriate computingentity triggers/initiates the purchase of the towels from the retailerand shipping the towels to Anytown USA using UPS. Initiating/triggeringthe purchase may include provide a message from which the identities ofany purchasing parties can be resolved based on the Twitter IDs, phonenumbers, or user IDs. That is, an appropriate computing entity candetermine/identify (e.g., resolve) the accounts/profiles for any partiesusing the Twitter IDs, phone numbers, or user ID. As part ofinitiating/triggering the purchase of the towels, an appropriatecomputing entity can initiate/trigger payment for the towels and thetransfer of the requisite funds to any appropriate entities/parties(e.g., retailers, carriers/transporters, shippers). For example, anappropriate computing entity may charge each user's/party's credit cardor account of the group and/or transfer the funds to the retailer'saccount (with or without a service fee). As will be recognized, this mayinclude the carrier/transporter warehousing goods for retailers andpackaging, shipping, and transporting the goods. In such a case, thecarrier/transporter can perform many or all of the actions of aretailer.

An appropriate computing entity can also provide a message to thecarrier/transporter computing entity 100 of the sales/purchasetransactions for the group. The carrier/transporter computing entity 100can identify the accounts/profiles for users/parties of thesales/purchase transactions and generate/create item/shipment recordsfor the same using the Twitter IDs, phone numbers, user IDs, and/or thelike. The carrier/transporter computing entity 100 can thenautomatically generate/create labels to be applied to the exterior ofthe items/shipments. However, as previously described, theitems/shipments can be tendered to the carrier/transporter with orwithout labels (see FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, and 16D). The group or socialpurchase may be transported to individual delivery locations and/or acommon delivery location for pick up by the various users/parties.

In one embodiment, an appropriate computing entity (e.g.,carrier/transporter computing entity 100, user computing entity 110,payment computing entity 115, retailer computing entity 120, socialmedia computing entity 125, mobile device communications networks) canprovide confirmation messages/notifications for the sales/purchasetransactions (Block 455 of FIG. 4B). As will be recognized, themessages/notifications can include various advertisements as describedpreviously. Such confirmation messages/notifications can provided in avariety of ways. For example, as shown in FIG. 30, an appropriatecomputing entity can provide an electronic message/notification in theuser's Twitter timeline that the sales/purchase transaction wascompleted. In the group or social context, each user may be providedwith a unique message or a common group message. As will be recognized,a variety of other approaches and techniques can be used to adapt tovarious needs and circumstances.

d. Other Uses

As will be recognized and has been previously described, various otherexamples of using action identifiers are contemplated by embodiments ofthe present invention. For instance, (1) #UPSPackage and *UPSPackage canbe used to trigger/initiate determining/identifying and/or providing thestatus of an item using UPS, (2) #UPSDriver and *UPSDriver can be usedto trigger/initiate determining/identifying and/or providing the statusof the driver delivering an item using UPS, (3) #UPSVehicle,*UPSVehicle, #UPSCar, and *UPSCar can be used to trigger/initiatedetermining/identifying and/or providing the location of the vehicle orcar delivering an item using UPS, (4) #UPSNDA and *UPSNDA can be used totrigger/initiate changing the delivery service level of an item to NextDay Air, (5) #UPS2DA, *UPS2DA, #UPSGND, and *UPSGND can be used totrigger/initiate changing the delivery service levels, (6)#UPSRedelivery and * UPSRedelivery can be used to trigger/initiateattempting redelivery of an item, (7) #Advertising can be usedtrigger/initiate providing advertising, (8) #Geo can be used totrigger/initiate determining/identifying the location of users/parties,and/or the like. As will be recognized, a variety of other approachesand techniques can be used to adapt to various needs and circumstances.

IV. CONCLUSION

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseinventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for generating an electronicshipping record based at least in part on a machine-readable actionidentifier in an electronic social media message, the method comprising:receiving, by a server system, a transmission comprising an electronicsocial media message, wherein (a) the electronic social media messagecomprises a sender identifier associated with a sender of the electronicsocial media message, (b) the transmission originates from a web-basedsocial network comprising a social structure that (i) represents anetwork of a plurality of users and (ii) comprises connections betweenthe plurality of users, and (c) the plurality of users comprises thesender; analyzing, by the server system, the electronic social mediamessage to determine whether the electronic social media messagecomprises a machine-readable action identifier initiating the purchaseof an item by the sender of the electronic social media message;responsive to determining that the electronic social media messagecomprises the machine-readable action identifier initiating the purchaseof an item by the sender of the electronic social media message based atleast in part on analyzing the electronic social media message,determining, by the server system based at least in part on the senderidentifier, whether the sender identifier corresponds to an electronicprofile indicating that the sender has been registered with the serversystem; responsive to determining that the sender identifier correspondsto an electronic profile indicating that the sender has been registeredwith the server system, identifying, by the server system based at leastin part on the sender identifier, a physical address stored in theelectronic profile corresponding to the sender identifier; responsive todetermining, by the server, that the sender identifier does notcorrespond to an electronic profile indicating that the sender has beenregistered with the server system, providing an interface for the senderto register with the server system; identifying, by the server system,the item being purchased; and automatically generating, by the serversystem, an electronic shipping record for the item, comprisingautomatically populating a ship to address with the physical addressstored in the electronic profile and storing the electronic shippingrecord in a shipping record database; and automatically generating, bythe server system, a shipment label configured to be printed and affixedto a shipment comprising the item, the shipment label corresponding tothe electronic shipment record.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: determining whether an action requirement corresponding tothe machine-readable action identifier must be satisfied to initiate thepurchase of an item by the sender of the electronic social mediamessage; and responsive to determining that the action requirementcorresponding to the machine-readable action identifier must besatisfied, determining whether the action requirement is satisfied. 3.The method of claim 1 further comprising providing (a) a notification tothe sender of the electronic social media message and (b) a notificationto a selling party of the item.
 4. The method of claim 3 furthercomprising providing an electronic advertisement in the notification tothe sender of the electronic social media message.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the machine-readable action identifier comprises one ormore alphanumeric characters.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theelectronic social media message is selected from the group consisted ofan email message, a text-based message, a social media message, apicture message, a graphic message, and a video message.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: responsive todetermining that the sender identifier corresponds to an electronicprofile indicating that the sender has been registered with the serversystem, identifying, by the server system based at least in part on thesender identifier, a default shipping service level stored in theelectronic profile corresponding to the sender identifier; andpopulating the electronic shipping record for the item with the defaultshipping service level stored in the electronic profile.
 8. A serversystem for generating an electronic shipping record based at least inpart on a machine-readable action identifier in an electronic socialmedia message, the server system comprising at least one processor andat least one memory including program code, the at least one memory andthe program code configured to, with the processor, cause the serversystem to at least: receive a transmission comprising an electronicsocial media message, wherein (a) the electronic social media messagecomprises a sender identifier associated with a sender of the electronicsocial media message, (b) the transmission originates from a web-basedsocial network comprising a social structure that (i) represents anetwork of a plurality of users and (ii) comprises connections betweenthe plurality of users, and (c) the plurality of users comprises thesender; analyze the electronic social media message to determine whetherthe electronic social media message comprises a machine-readable actionidentifier initiating the purchase of an item by the sender of theelectronic social media message; responsive to determining that theelectronic social media message comprises the machine-readable actionidentifier initiating the purchase of an item by the sender of theelectronic social media message based at least in part on analyzing theelectronic social media message, determine, based at least in part onthe sender identifier, whether the sender identifier corresponds to anelectronic profile indicating that the sender has been registered withthe server system; responsive to determining that the sender identifiercorresponds to an electronic profile indicating that the sender has beenregistered with the server system, identify, based at least in part onthe sender identifier, a physical address stored in the electronicprofile corresponding to the sender identifier; responsive todetermining that the sender identifier does not correspond to anelectronic profile indicating that the sender has been registered withthe server system, provide an interface for the sender to register withthe server system; identify the item being purchased; automaticallygenerate an electronic shipping record for the item, comprisingautomatically populating a ship to address with the physical addressstored in the electronic profile and storing the electronic shippingrecord in a shipping record database; and automatically generating ashipment label configured to be printed and affixed to a shipmentcomprising the item, the shipment label corresponding to the electronicshipment record.
 9. The server system of claim 8, wherein the memory andprogram code are further configured to, with the processor, cause theserver system to: determine whether an action requirement correspondingto the machine-readable action identifier must be satisfied to initiatethe purchase of an item by the sender of the electronic social mediamessage; and responsive to determining that the action requirementcorresponding to the machine-readable action identifier must besatisfied, determine whether the action requirement is satisfied. 10.The server system of claim 8, wherein the memory and program code arefurther configured to, with the processor, cause the server system toprovide (a) a notification to the sender of the electronic social mediamessage and (b) a notification to a selling party of the item.
 11. Theserver system of claim 10, wherein the memory and program code arefurther configured to, with the processor, cause the server system toprovide an electronic advertisement in the notification to the sender ofthe electronic social media message.
 12. The server system of claim 8,wherein the memory and program code are further configured to, with theprocessor, cause the server system to: responsive to determining thatthe sender identifier corresponds to an electronic profile indicatingthat the sender has been registered with the server system, identifying,by the server system based at least in part on the sender identifier, adefault shipping service level stored in the electronic profilecorresponding to the sender identifier; and populating the electronicshipping record for the item with the default shipping service levelstored in the electronic profile.
 13. The server system of claim 8,wherein the electronic social media message is selected from the groupconsisted of an email message, a text-based message, a social mediamessage, a picture message, a graphic message, and a video message. 14.The server system of claim 8, wherein the machine-readable actionidentifier comprises one or more alphanumeric characters.
 15. A computerprogram product for generating an electronic shipping record based atleast in part on a machine-readable action identifier in an electronicsocial media message, the computer program product comprising at leastone non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable program code portions stored therein, thecomputer-readable program code portions comprising: an executableportion configured to receive, by a server system, a transmissioncomprising an electronic social media message, wherein (a) theelectronic social media message comprises a sender identifier associatedwith a sender of the electronic social media message, (b) thetransmission originates from a web-based social network comprising asocial structure that (i) represents a network of a plurality of usersand (ii) comprises connections between the plurality of users, and (c)the plurality of users comprises the sender; an executable portionconfigured to analyze, by the server system, the electronic social mediamessage to determine whether the electronic social media messagecomprises a machine-readable action identifier initiating the purchaseof an item by the sender of the electronic social media message; anexecutable portion configured to, responsive to determining that theelectronic social media message comprises the machine-readable actionidentifier initiating the purchase of an item by the sender of theelectronic social media message based at least in part on analyzing theelectronic social media message, determine, based at least in part onthe sender identifier, whether the sender identifier corresponds to anelectronic profile indicating that the sender has been registered withthe server system; an executable portion configured to, responsive todetermining that the sender identifier corresponds to an electronicprofile indicating that the sender has been registered with the serversystem identify, based at least in part on the sender identifier, aphysical address and a default shipping service level stored in theelectronic profile corresponding to the sender identifier; an executableportion configured to, responsive to determining that the senderidentifier does not correspond to an electronic profile indicating thatthe sender has been registered with the server system, provide aninterface for the sender to register with the server system; anexecutable portion configured to identify, by the server system, theitem being purchased; an executable portion configured to automaticallygenerate, by the server system, an electronic shipping record for theitem, wherein (a) generating the electronic shipping record comprisesautomatically populating (i) a ship to address with the physical addressstored in the electronic profile and (ii) the default shipping servicelevel stored in the electronic profile and (b) the electronic shippingrecord is stored in a shipping record database; and an executableportion configured to automatically generate, by the server system, ashipment label configured to be printed and affixed to a shipmentcomprising the item, the shipment label corresponding to the electronicshipment record.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15, furthercomprising: an executable portion configured to determine whether anaction requirement corresponding to the machine-readable actionidentifier must be satisfied to initiate the purchase of an item by thesender of the electronic social media message; and an executable portionconfigured to, responsive to determining that the action requirementcorresponding to the machine-readable action identifier must besatisfied, determine whether the action requirement is satisfied. 17.The computer program product of claim 15 further comprising anexecutable portion configured to provide (a) a notification to thesender of the electronic social media message and (b) a notification toa selling party of the item.
 18. The computer program product of claim17 further comprising an executable portion configured to provide anelectronic advertisement in the notification to the sender of theelectronic social media message.
 19. The computer program product ofclaim 15, wherein the machine-readable action identifier comprises oneor more alphanumeric characters.
 20. The computer program product ofclaim 15, wherein the electronic social media message is selected fromthe group consisted of an email message, a text-based message, a socialmedia message, a picture message, a graphic message, and a videomessage.